New York Yankees: All-time best third basemen in franchise history

Who are the all-time best third basemen in New York Yankees history?

Over the history of the franchise, the New York Yankees have had many different third basemen play the hot corner. They have had guys with power and they have had guys that have been solid fielders in a tough position in the field.

They have had guys who started in other positions who ended up making the move to third based on need and a position that needed to be filled at the time. Teams look to fill the position with power bats and the Yankees are no different, whether it’s a home run hitter or contact hitter.

With that said, here are the Top 10 third basemen in franchise history based on War Above Replacement (WAR). The WAR from Baseball-Reference was used to compile this list.

New York Yankee’s all-time third basemen – No. 10: Chase Headley (8.6 WAR)

What a beginning to his career in Pinstripes. Chase Headley was acquired from the San Diego Padres on

July 22, 2014 in a trade for Yangervis Solarte and Rafael De Paula. He shaved right after the trade and wasted little time in producing for his new team. Headley delivered a game-winning RBI walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning later that night in a 2-1 win over the Texas Rangers at the Stadium.

He finished his four years with the Yankees with an average of .262 with 43 home runs and 191 RBIs, while averaging 21 doubles a year. His best year for the Yankees was in 2017 with a slash line of .273/.352/.406 with 12 home runs and 61 RBI.

In 432 games at third base for the Yanks, he made 48 errors before being moved to first base following the acquisition of Todd Frazier. Though Headley moved to first base following the Frazier trade with the Chicago White Sox,  he will be remembered for his time at third base in New York.

Headley was traded following the 2017 season back to the Padres.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 7: Mike Pagliarulo (10.6 WAR)

Drafted in the sixth round out of the University of Miami in 1981, Pags played his first five years in the Bronx. He made his debut in 1984 and had four good offensive seasons with the Yankees from 1984-1989.

He had 521 hits with the Yankees with nearly half of them extra-base hits. He had 111 doubles, 105 home runs and 12 triples. His first four years he had an OPS of .735 or above and it increased each year topping out at .784 in 1987. He finished up his tenure with the Yankees with a .229 average 337 RBIs.

Playing the hot corner, in 654 games for the Yankees, he averaged just 10 errors a season.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 6: Wade Boggs (18.3 WAR)

Mostly known for his 11 years in Boston, he is wearing the Red Sox hat in the Hall of Fame, but he came to the Yankees in 1993 and was able to win a World Series championship in 1996 that he could not win with the Red Sox.

Boggs signed as a free agent in 1993 with the Yankees as he headed toward the back end of his career, but you would never know he was in his mid 30’s with the way he contributed for the Yanks. In five years, he hit over .300 in his first four years and finished his time with the Bombers with a slash line of .313/.396/.407. He made the All-Star team four straight years and won two Gold Glove Awards for his stellar play at third base.

Following the Game 6 win over the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series, Boggs jumped on the back of an NYPD horse and went for a celebratory jaunt around Yankee Stadium. Boggs signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1998 and finished his career with two seasons in Florida before retiring at the end of the 1999 season.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 5: Clete Boyer (20.1 WAR)

He wasn’t going to ”Wow” you with his bat, but Boyer let his glove do the talking in his eight years with the Yankees. Playing on a roster with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford to just name a few of his teammates, his defense was more valuable than his offense.

The Yankees won the American League pennant in his 1960 rookie season before winning back-to-back World Series titles in 1961 and 1962. As a rookie, he hit 14 home runs and hit .242, but in 1962 when the Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series with a team that many consider the best Yankee team of all-time, he hit .272 with 18 home runs and 68 RBI. He also recorded 396 assists at third base.

In 1967, Boyer signed with the Atlanta Braves and posted a career-high with 26 home runs and 96 RBI.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 4: Frank Baker (20.5 WAR)

In 1916, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack sold Baker’s contract to the Yankees for $35,000 and it was a great investment for the Bombers. Baker was considered at the time one of the best, if not the best, Deadball-era hitters and he did not disappoint in the middle of the lineup with Wally Pipp to form a “Murder’s Row” for opposing pitchers.

In six years with the Yankees from 1916-1922, he hit .288 with 48 home runs and 379 RBIs. He collected 735 hits in Pinstripes and was one of the best Pre-Ruth era sluggers. In his playing career than spanned over 13 years with the Athletics and Yankees, he never played any other position than third base.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 3: Red Rolfe (26.2 WAR)

Rolfe spent all 10 of his years with the Yankees and was a five-time World Series champion. They won four straight championships from 1936-1939 and then one more again two years later in 1941.

Like Boyer, Rolfe was more known for his glove than his bat. Playing with the likes of Lou Gehrig, Joe DeMaggio and Lefty Gomez, the offense wasn’t necessarily needed. He finished his career with a slash line of .289/.360/.413 with 69 home runs and 497 RBI. His best offensive season was in 1939 with a .329 average, 14 home runs and 80 RBIs. He also scored 139 runs, ripped 46 doubles and led the league with 213 hits.

He made four consecutive AL All-Star teams from 1937-1940.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 2: Graig Nettles (44.4 WAR)

Acquired from the Cleveland Indians in 1973, Nettles would play 11 years in the Bronx and end up being one of the faces of the franchise during his tenure.

Another player known for his glove rather than his bat, he hit .253 for the Yankees in 11 years with 250 home runs and 834 RBIs. He made five All-Star teams with the Yankees in 1975 and then four straight from 1977-1980.

Defense was Nettles calling card at third base. He won two Gold Glove Awards in 1977 and 1978 during World Series championship seasons. His defense in the 1978 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers was a major reason why the Yankees were able to survive in six games. He was the Yankees captain for two years beginning in 1982.

The Yankees traded Nettles to the San Diego Padres in Spring Training of 1984 after comments from owner George Steinbrenner insulted him about being paid with another contract.

New York Yankees all-time third basemen – No. 1: Alex Rodriguez (54.0 WAR)

There is no denying the talent that A-Rod had in his 22-year career, even when the talk of steroids enters the conversation. He spent over half of his time the league with the Yankees.

In 2004, the Yankees acquired Rodriguez from the Seattle Mariners. He was a shortstop at the time of the trade, but with Derek Jeter at short for the Bombers, Rodriguez slid over to third base and was a staple there for 12 years.

He was a seven-time All-Star for the Yankees and wrapped 12 years with the Pinstripes with a .283 average with 351 home runs, 1,096 RBIs and 152 stolen bases. He won the AL MVP Award in 2005 and 2007.

He signed a 10-year, $275 million contract with the Yankees in 2007. In his second year of the deal, the Yankees won the World Series and Rodriguez played a large role in the 27th and last championship.

Against the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS, he hit .455 with two home runs and six RBIs in 2009. In the ALCS against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, he hit .429 with three home runs and six RBIs. In the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, his average dipped to .250 with one home, but for the third consecutive series, he drove in six runs.

On top of the MVP Awards, Rodriguez won the Silver Slugger Award 10 times, was crowned American League home run champion five times and was a 14-time All-Star. He also became the youngest player to hit 500 home runs when he hit No. 500 in 2007 at the age of 31. It’s easy to see why he goes down as the Yankees best all-time third basemen at the hot corner.